Both goaltenders played spectacularly and both defences rarely faltered as Jukurit Mikkeli and Fribourg-Gottéron ended the First Game of their two-game series in a 1-1 tie with the next contest set to decide who will advance.

Jukurit opened the scoring 11:38 into the first when Juhamatti Aaltonen deposited the puck five-hole past Connor Hughes. After forcing a turnover in his own zone, Aaltonen took possession of the puck, skated in on a breakaway and slid it through the Canadian netminder's pads to give the hosts the edge.

As second-period action got underway, Fribourg had their legs going early.

Three minutes in, the Swiss found their first tally thanks to Ryan Gunderson who whacked it in for his first of the tournament. Following up on the initial shot attempt, Gunderson skated through the crease and put it past Frans Tuohimaa to knot things at 1 apiece. The play was reviewed for goaltender interference, but it was determined the puck crossed the line legally.

The visitors' biggest push came in the latter stage of the second as the Swiss hemmed the Finns in their zone for long stretches, shoveling chance after chance on Tuohimaa who managed to fend off each opportunity to keep the game level at 1-1 heading into the final period.

The tight-checking game that had characterised the matchup through the first two frames continued into the third with neither side giving the other much room to maneuver. Consequently, despite each side being awarded a powerplay, both Jukurit and Fribourg were unable to find twine for a second time as the score stays level heading into the sides' Return Game next week.